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SASF Settles 185 NPAs Worth Rs 3,000 Cr :
Business Standard - August 17, 2005

The Stressed Asset Stabilisation Fund (SASF) is harvesting profits from the legacy non-performing assets (NPAs) of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI). SASF settled 185 NPA cases for an aggregate amount of Rs 3,200 crore. This is 52 per cent higher than the total acquisition value of Rs 2,100 crore, said Siby Antony, executive trustee of the fund.

SASF was set up in 2004 to purge IDBI of Rs 9,000 crore of NPAs in a cash-neutral transaction. A total of 636 NPAs were transferred by financial institution to SASF prior to its conversion into a banking entity in October 2004. The Rs 9,000 crore of zero-interest special securities loaned to SASF by the government were given to IDBI in lieu of the NPAs transferred.

The settlements involve restructuring of loans in respect of amounts and repayment terms. A small part of the settlements have been through cash recoveries. The fund has made cash recoveries worth Rs 375 crore so far, of which Rs 134 crore was returned to the government in 2004-05. SASF has set a target of returning Rs 1,500 crore to the government in 2005-06, the first full year of operation of the trust, from funds received through one-time settlements and through normal repayments.